


kisses for charity (and one just because)

by ArgentLives



Series: live in gal pals [29]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Kissing, Kissing Booths
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-09
Updated: 2015-11-09
Packaged: 2018-04-30 19:06:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5176283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArgentLives/pseuds/ArgentLives
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Hey, will you hurry up, there’s a line here!” a guy at the front of the line shouts, glaring at her and Linda on the stage. She scowls at him, because seriously, she doesn’t owe these people anything. And she actually enjoys Linda’s company. </p><p>“Yeah,” another voice calls out, high and nasally and oh-so-obnoxious. “You don’t have to flirt with her first, lady. That’s not the point.”</p><p>“Ugh,” Linda scrunches up her nose, sticking her tongue out at the crowd to show that she could care less what they think before turning back to Iris with a sympathetic look on her face. “So this is what you’ve been putting up with all day? I am so sorry.”</p><p>“Well,” Iris says, taking Linda’s hands in her own and pulling her down to sit on the stool opposite from hers so that they’re finally at eye-level. “Maybe you can make it worth my while?”</p><p> </p><p>[Iris gets stuck working the kissing booth at CCU's annual fair for two agonizingly long hours, but in the end it's worth the wait.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	kisses for charity (and one just because)

**Author's Note:**

> written for the prompt: Kissing booth AU

If she ever gets out of this alive—which, honestly, she’s seriously starting to doubt—she is going to kill Barry Allen. Burn him alive, tear him apart, watch him die a very slow, very painful death. “Sign up to volunteer at the local fair our college is hosting with me, Iris!” he’d said. “It’s for charity! I know you always love to help out a good cause, Iris!” he’d said. “It’ll be  _fun_ , Iris!” he’d said. Well, she’d agreed. And now she really wants to strangle him.

Because while he’d been assigned to the cotton candy tent, spinning sugar and handing it out to beaming, sticky-fingered little kids (and adults), with Cisco Ramon, his long-time crush from CCU, manning the popcorn station right next to him, she’d somehow gotten stuck with a shift working the goddamn kissing booth. When she’d tried to complain to get re-assigned, the fair’s coordinator had told her that they were, and quote, “short on female volunteers, so sorry, no can do sweetheart.” She’d nearly punched the guy, but hadn’t wanted to make a spectacle at a family event.  _Sexist asshole_.

Barry had given her an apologetic little smile that told her he knew just how much deep shit he was in for getting her into this mess—although she supposes it wasn’t _technically_  his fault—, but then Cisco had come over to ask him for his help setting up the food machines, and she’d wager a guess that he probably hadn’t been too bent out of shape about it, after that. Jerk.

She  _could_  just say no, and decide not to volunteer at all, but that would be quitting, and she doesn’t do quitting. Besides, it’ll probably haunt her conscious forever, or something, if she turned her back on charity. It can’t be that bad, right?

* * *

 

It’s that bad.

Since she’s been here she’s had to put up with everything from horny, inexperienced pre-teens who have tried to stick their tongues down her throat to creepy old dudes who smell bad and make her want to puke, and honestly she can’t even believe something this blatantly misogynistic and heteronormative as this is even allowed to exist in the 21st century. Like, seriously?

It feels so  _long_  too. She checks her phone in between every tight-lipped, uncooperative kiss (she’s very particular about what she’ll allow in her mouth, thank-you-very-much), which probably really isn’t helping, because every time she checks less than like two minutes have actually passed when it really feels like twenty, and her heart sinks further down to her stomach.

But after nearly two hours of torture she’s finally getting down to the last ten minutes of her shift, thank the lord, and she’s just pulling her phone out of her pocket again, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand in disgust and thanking God for her foresight not to wear lipstick today, hoping that maybe by some miracle ten minutes will have flown by in the last two, when she feels a tap on her shoulder. She pockets her phone with a sigh and looks up to face the next person in line—only this time it’s a woman, smiling at her a little uncertainly, and Iris’s heart leaps in her chest.  _Fucking finally_ , she thinks, and she could kiss this girl for coming early to take over her shift, even if it’s not by much.

“Oh, thank God, you must be the replacement?” she breathes, her eyes lighting up at the girl standing in front of her. She’s decidedly—well, hot—and probably around her age, hair cropped short but expertly styled, and she’s wearing the cutest dress Iris has seen here all day and a smile that’s not quite a smirk but maybe the merest suggestion of one. It makes her look sort of edgy, Iris thinks, in a good way. Like she won’t take any shit, which is good, especially considering what she’s going to have to put up with once she relieves Iris from this hell.

“Well, actually—”

“This has been painful, oh my God, I am so sorry that you’re taking over for me, these guys are disgusting, and I swear that one—” she points to a creepy little fourteen year old who has, of course, hopped back in line, rubbing his grubby little hands together and winking at her in a way that makes Iris want to gag, “—tried to feel me up, like, ugh. This whole thing is just  _wrong_. I’m totally going to file a complaint as soon as I leave here. Maybe I can get them to shut this down early, for your sake.”

“But I’m not—”

“Here, let me just grab my coat and I’ll be out your way. Seriously, good luck and god bless—”

“Iris!” the girl blurts out, finally cutting her off. Iris blinks at her in confusion, wondering if she knows this girl from somewhere. Now that she thinks about it, actually, she does look vaguely familiar. This fair is being held by her university, after all. Maybe she goes to Central, too? She might have seen her around campus at some point, or something.

“Sorry, that’s—your name, right? It’s on your name tag, and all…” —oh right, Iris thinks,  _duh—_   “…anyway, there’s—I think you’re, uh, misunderstanding the situation a little bit here. I’m not—I’m not here to be your replacement, I…well, you know, charity is really important to me, and I liked the cause this one was donating the money from the tickets to, but I didn’t realize it was—that the tickets were for—well.”

“Oh,” Iris says, not really getting it, but then Linda shuffles nervously and her eyes flick down to Iris’s lips, and _that’s_ when it clicks. “ _Oooh_. I mean, you don’t have to do this part. You could’ve just donated the money and left it at that.”

“Yeah, um. That’s true,” Linda bites her lip and gives Iris a hopeful little grin, “but I…kind of didn’t want to? I was going to, but then I saw you up there, and, uh, yeah. Is this weird for you? I’m sorry if it is, I can leave…”

“No,” Iris says slowly, because really, out of everyone who she’s had to deal with so far, this girl is the only one she actually kind of finds herself attracted to in the first place. Which isn’t exactly a new experience for her, being attracted to a girl, but actually kissing one—yeah that is. It certainly doesn’t mean she’s never thought about it, though. She thinks about it a lot, actually, and it’s also pretty clear to her that she  _wants_  to. This girl is really pretty, and looks pretty confident, like she must have some sort of experience to make up for Iris’s lack of it, so really, what’s stopping her? “No, that’s okay. I, uh—I’d choose someone like you over any those slimy dudes any day.”

“Okay, good,” the girl laughs, and oh, wow, she has  _dimples_. And her laugh is really cute. Yeah, this she can totally do. Definitely a nice way to end an otherwise painful two hours. Except there’s still that nagging sensation at the back of her mind, that feeling that somehow this girl looks familiar.

“Hey, don’t I know you from somewhere?” she asks before she can stop herself, and the girl looks like she’s just gotten caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar.

“Uh, yeah, actually. I didn’t think you recognized me. You were in my journalism class freshman year. I’m Linda Park. And can I just say I’m a huge fan of the articles you send in to the school paper? I run the sports section, and seriously, you should really consider joining the staff with us. You’d be an excellent addition to the team—we always run your stories.” 

“I  _knew_ you looked familiar!” Iris grins,a warm feeling spreading in her chest at the praise. “And thanks, that means a lot. I’d love to get more involved with the paper, I just wasn’t sure who to contact. But Linda Park—that name sounds familiar too, I think…oh!” she snaps her fingers, her eyes lighting up as the realization hits her, “You wrote that story about that sexual assault scandal going on with the football team, didn’t you? That was  _awesome_. I remember reading it a while back and being thrilled it actually made it in. It’s such a huge problem on college campuses.”

“Yeah, well,” Linda shrugs like it’s no big deal, but Iris can tell from her smug expression that she’s pleased. “It wasn’t technically supposed to make it in. We never quite, you know, asked for approval on that one. The board threw a fit when they found out we’d run that story. Totally worth it though—it had to be done.”

Iris opens her mouth to respond, already deciding that she  _really_ likes Linda Park, when a loud groan and a bawdy yell catches her attention, and she’s suddenly aware of the irritated muttering coming up from the crowd. 

“Hey, will you hurry up, there’s a line here!” a guy at the front of the line shouts, glaring at her and Linda on the stage. She scowls at him, because seriously, she doesn’t owe these people anything. And she actually  _enjoys_  Linda’s company. 

“Yeah,” another voice calls out, high and nasally and oh-so-obnoxious. “You don’t have to flirt with her first, lady. That’s not the _point_.”

“Ugh,” Linda scrunches up her nose, sticking her tongue out at the crowd to show that she could care less what they think before turning back to Iris with a sympathetic look on her face. “So this is what you’ve been putting up with all day? I am _so_ sorry.”

“Well,” Iris says, taking Linda’s hands in her own and pulling her down to sit on the stool opposite from hers so that they’re finally at eye-level. “Maybe you can make it worth my while?”

“That, I could do,” Linda grins, and starts to lean in, and Iris feels her pulse quicken and her heart beat just a little louder in her chest as her eyes flutter closed and then—a tap on her shoulder startles her into sitting upright, and Linda blinks up at something behind Iris with a frown on her face, disappointment shining in her eyes. Iris twists her neck around to see what it is and it’s not something, it’s some _one—_ a pretty blonde girl with a stellar smile that looks decidedly apologetic.

“I am so, so sorry,” the girl says, shrugging out of her coat and putting her bag on the ground. “I know I’m late—I got held up, but I left you stranded here and—oh. Sorry. You don’t even know who I am, my bad. I’m Patty. Your replacement?”

“Oh,” Iris blinks, and stands on shaky legs, half-asleep and prickling with pins-and-needles from sitting down for so long. “Right. Great. Um, cool. Thanks, Patty. Listen, see that guy over there? Yeah, watch out for him. And just in general, uh, good luck, I’m really sorry, this isn’t exactly the funnest thing you could’ve gotten stuck with.”

“Trust me, I know, I’ve been trying to get them to do away with this for years,” Patty sighs, plopping down on the stool Iris has just vacated, running a hand through her hair. She smiles at Linda, still sitting across from her like she doesn’t know what to do with herself, but Linda just scowls back, and then sends a pouting look towards Iris. 

 _Poor Patty,_  Iris thinks. It’s not her fault she’s being sort of oblivious, and she seems nice enough. Except, more importantly, poor  _her_. It feels like she’s been waiting all freaking day for her shift to be over and for her replacement to come save her, but of course the second she  _doesn’t_  want to leave anymore is when her replacement finally shows up. Typical.

“Well, I guess I’ll just be…going, then. Good luck, Patty,” Iris gives her one last smile before pulling on her coat, giving Linda one last longing, apologetic look. What she doesn’t expect, however, is for Linda to hop up after her, pausing to lean down and give Patty a quick kiss on the cheek. 

“Thanks, P,” she says, and Patty touches the spot on her cheek with confusion, but Linda is already following Iris down the stairs at the side-exit of the stage. “I’m with her, though.”

“Oh. Um. Okay. Bye,” Patty waves at them a little awkwardly, and Iris gives her a thumbs up in return, grinning at Linda as soon as they’re off the stage

“I’m sorry,” she says, voice heavy with regret when they’ve walked far enough away from it, putting a hand on Linda’s arm to get her to stop, and she really is. She was actually looking forward to this one. “You never got your kiss.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Linda smiles at her, and after a moment’s hesitation, she takes out her phone and taps it against Iris’s coat pocket, where she’d seen her tuck hers safely away. There’s a little beeping sound and Iris’s phone lights up, glowing through the material lining her jacket, and she gives Linda a look of confusion. Linda’s grin only widens. “It’s a new app. Now you have my number,” she says, and then she  _winks_  at her. It’s a whole lot more sexy than the creepy fourteen year old who had done it. “Text me sometime. You know, if you want more info about getting involved with the paper. Or something.”

“Or something,” Iris repeats, taking out her phone and grinning at the new contact her screen reflects back at her. “You know, now I need a picture.” 

“Makes sense,” Linda nods, and when Iris lifts her phone up to snap the picture, Linda closes her eyes and poses so that it looks like she’s blowing the camera a kiss. Iris takes it, doesn’t bother checking whether or not it came out okay, and leans in to capture Linda’s puckered lips with her own. Linda’s eyes fly open in surprise at the contact, her lips parting against Iris’s with a gasp, and Iris lets herself grin against them. 

It only takes Linda a few stunned seconds to recover from her shock, and then she’s kissing Iris back, and her lips are so soft and gentle compared to the tons of chapped and dry and hungry messes she’s dealt with earlier today. Honestly, if this one kiss is her reward for having to go through all of those disasters, she thinks it might even be worth it, after all. Linda drags Iris’s bottom lip through her teeth as she pulls away, just far enough so that she can place a kiss on her jaw, and then one on the side of her neck, both of which leave Iris feeling hot all over and eager for more. 

But then somebody clears their throat behind them, loud and rude, and Iris and Linda jump apart, eyes wide and skin flushed. A cranky old lady shakes her head at the pair of them in disapproval, and Linda rolls her eyes while Iris rubs the back of her neck in embarrassment. When Linda looks back at her, there’s a light blush in her cheeks and her lips are wet and red and she’s smiling sheepishly, her gaze flickering back down to Iris’s own swollen lips.

“So, worth your time?” Linda asks, her eyes bright, mouth curling into that pretty little smirk. 

“Definitely,” Iris nods, and then places a hand on her shoulder. “Would you be opposed to sparing a little more of it?”

“Not at all,” Linda shakes her head, reaching up to cover Iris’s hand on her shoulder with her own, her fingers warm and soft. “What did you have in mind?” 

“Cotton candy first? And then maybe we can hit some of the rides? This is a fair, after all. We should make the most of it.” Oh, she can’t  _wait_  to see the look on Barry’s face—although she wonders if he’ll be too preoccupied with his own potential romance to notice. Either way, she’s not going to pass up the opportunity to rub it in.  _She shoots, she scores._ And wow, she thinks, looking at Linda, her lips still tingling pleasantly from just moments ago, has she  _scored_.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Linda grins, and her fingers twitch over the back of Iris’s hand. She hesitates for a moment before moving the hand off of her shoulder, only to turn Iris’s palm up to face hers and intertwine their fingers together, tugging her in the direction of the food tent. “But only if I get to treat.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> originally posted on my [tumblr](http://bisexualiriswest.tumblr.com/), as most of my prompt fills are.


End file.
